Thursday evening December 22

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.Lord, come quickly and help us.

Reveal among us the light of your presencethat we may behold your power and glory.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,creator of light and darkness,to you be glory and praise forever.As evening falls, you renew your promiseto reveal among us the light of your presence.May your word be a lantern to our feetand a light upon our paththat we may behold your coming among us.Strengthen us in our stumbling weaknessand free our tongues to sing your praise.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,so may your mercy come down upon usto cleanse our heartsand set us free to sing your praisenow and forever.Amen.

Hymn

See the Lord, Thy Keeper, Stand

Charles Wesley

See the Lord, thy keeper, stand,Omnipotently near;Lo! He holds thee by the hand,And banishes thy fear;Shadows with his wings thy head;Guards from all impending harms;Round thee and beneath are spreadThe everlasting arms.

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:The first commandment is this:‘Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord,and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,with all your being, with all your mind,and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’No other commandment is greater than these.All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,in our sin we have avoided your call.Our love for you is like a morning cloud,like the dew that goes away early.Have mercy on us;deliver us from judgment;bind up our wounds and revive us;in Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 24

Refrain:The Lord of heavenly forces — he is the glorious king!

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too.Because God is the one who established it on the seas; God set it firmly on the waters.Who can ascend the Lord’s mountain? Who can stand in his holy sanctuary?Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart; the one who hasn’t made false promises, the one who hasn’t sworn dishonestly.That kind of person receives blessings from the Lord and righteousness from the God who saves.And that’s how things are with the generation that seeks him— that seeks the face of Jacob’s God.Mighty gates: lift up your heads! Ancient doors: rise up high! So the glorious king can enter!Who is this glorious king? The Lord—strong and powerful! The Lord—powerful in battle!Mighty gates: lift up your heads! Ancient doors: rise up high! So the glorious king can enter!Who is this glorious king? The Lord of heavenly forces— he is the glorious king!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:The Lord of heavenly forces — he is the glorious king!

Psalm prayer

Psalm 48

Refrain:We dwell on your faithful love, God.

In the city belonging to our God, the Lord is great and so worthy of praise!His holy mountain is a beautiful summit, the joy of the whole world. Mount Zion, in the far north, is the city of the great king.God is in its fortifications, revealing himself as a place of safety.Look: the kings assembled themselves, advancing all together— when they saw it, they were stunned; they panicked and ran away frightened.Trembling took hold of them right there— like a woman giving birth, or like the east wind when it smashes the ships of Tarshish.Just like we had heard, now we’ve seen it for ourselves in the city of the Lord of heavenly forces, in the city of our God. May God make it secure forever!We dwell on your faithful love, God, in your temple.Your praise, God, just like your reputation, extends to the far corners of the earth. Your strong hand is filled with righteousness.Let Mount Zion be glad; let the towns of Judah rejoice because of your acts of justice!Walk around Zion; go all the way around it; count its towers.Examine its defenses closely; tour its fortifications so that you may tell future generations:“This is God, our God, forever and always! He is the one who will lead us even to the very end.”

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:We dwell on your faithful love, God.

Psalm prayer

Father of lights,raise us with Christ to your eternal city,that, with kings and nations,we may wait in the midst of your templeand see your glory forever and ever.

Old Testament readingMalachi 3:13-4:6

You have spoken harshly about me,says the Lord; but you say, “What have we spoken about you?”You said, “Serving God is useless. What do we gain by keeping his obligation or by walking around as mourners before the Lord of heavenly forces?So now we consider the arrogant fortunate. Moreover, those doing evil are built up; they test God and escape.”

Then those revering the Lord, each and every one, spoke among themselves. The Lord paid attention and listened to them.Then a scroll of remembrance was written before the Lord about those revering the Lord, the ones meditating on his name.On the day that I am preparing,says the Lord of heavenly forces, they will be my special possession. I will spare them just as parents spare a child who serves them.You will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those serving God and those not serving him.

Look, the day is coming, burning like an oven.All the arrogant ones and all those doing evil will become straw. The coming day will burn them,says the Lord of heavenly forces, leaving them neither root nor branch.But the sun of righteousness will rise on those revering my name; healing will be in its wings so that you will go forth and jump about like calves in the stall.You will crush the wicked; they will be like dust beneath the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,says the Lord of heavenly forces.Remember the Instruction from Moses, my servant, to whom I gave Instruction and rules for all Israel at Horeb.Look, I am sending Elijah the prophet to you, before the great and terrifying day of the Lord arrives.Turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to their parents. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingMatthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, “The legal experts and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. Therefore, you must take care to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. For they tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry. They put them on the shoulders of others, but are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do, they do to be noticed by others. They make extra-wide prayer bands for their arms and long tassels for their clothes. They love to sit in places of honor at banquets and in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with honor in the markets and to be addressed as ‘Rabbi.’

“But you shouldn’t be called Rabbi, because you have one teacher, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Don’t call anybody on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is heavenly. Don’t be called teacher, because Christ is your one teacher. But the one who is greatest among you will be your servant. All who lift themselves up will be brought low. But all who make themselves low will be lifted up.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Refrain:Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoredbecause the mighty one has done great things for me.Holy is his name.He shows mercy to everyone,from one generation to the next,who honors him as God.He has shown strength with his arm.He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.He has pulled the powerful down from their thronesand lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty-handed.He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,remembering his mercy,just as he promised to our ancestors,to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Lord Jesus, you are the one who is to come, the one whom we await with longing hearts.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offeredfor peacefor individuals and their needs

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, in your mercyhear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

God our redeemer,who prepared the Blessed Virgin Maryto be the mother of your Son:grant that, as she looked for his coming as our savior,so we may be ready to greet himwhen he comes again as our judge;who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Awaiting his coming in glory,as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.